Can I trust God enough (Thursday, Lent 1)

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Some background information may help us understand what is actually happening in Esther 14:1.3-4.11.13-14. When the Jews were under the authority of the Persians, they faced an imminent threat of extermination because a certain man called Haman who hated the Jews and felt threatened by their presence had influenced the king to issue a decree of extermination of the Jews. But luckily for the Jews, the queen of the Persian Kingdom was a Jewess, a Jewish lady by name Esther. Mordecai, a very prominent Jewish elder, had recourse to Esther for her to use her position as the queen to work for the salvation of the Jews.


Esther 14:1.3-4.11.13-14 presents to us the heartfelt prayer of Esther as she prepared to talk to the king. Her prayer reveals a heart that trusted God beyond all telling. She did not just reassure herself that her mere position as a queen would procure salvation for her people. She believed that it is only God who can bring about the salvation which they urgently longed for. We will begin to really pray when we come to that consciousness that we can’t but trust God to whom we pray. It is the heart that trusts, not the head. And that is why prayer is understood as a loving conversation between two hearts: a heart-to-heart interaction; and not just any heart, but a heart that trusts.


The sayings of Jesus in Mathew 7:7-12 are reflective of a heart that has so much trusted. Jesus grew up in a culture that valued prayer; He has had firsthand experience of what it means to pray; and he is recommending to us what He himself has so much enjoyed and experienced. Jesus helps us understand that the God that we pray to is a loving father who is so good. Prayer becomes easier when we approach Him with trust.


A striking illustration may help us: if our earthly fathers who are not perfect could give good things to us when we ask for them, how much more will Our Father in heaven who is so good and perfect do for us when we come to him in prayer. We feel bored to pray because we have not trusted enough. Sometimes, we pray for something and God does something else and we may begin to feel that God does not answer our prayers. The problem is that we always want to impose our own will on God; God knows what is good for us. So, let us trust that He would do that which pleases him.


There is also a note of persistence in prayer in what Jesus said in the gospel reading. The Greek language has two imperatives: the aorist and present. The aorist imperative issues one definite command while the present imperative issues a command that something should be done always. The three words “ask, knock and search” that Jesus mentioned in the gospel are all present imperatives. Therefore, what Jesus is saying is that in prayer, we should go on asking, go on searching and go on knocking. He is telling us to persist in prayer; not to be discouraged in prayer. Therein lies the test of our sincerity. Do we really want a thing? Is it such that we can bring it repeatedly into God’s presence? The biggest test of any desire is: CAN I PRAY ABOUT IT? 


Prayer:

God, grant me the faith, the grit, the courage and determination to pray without ceasing because I know that You never fail. In one way or the other, I am sure that You will answer me whenever I call, Amen!


Have a Fruitful Lenten Journey!



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